Back in 1977, I did some research into my family background. It's another Jubilee year, and I've started up again. Things are much easier now as they invented the Internet in the meantime.
I'm in the middle of collecting information, which I'm recording on this page. Apologies if it seems hard going at the moment. Eventually I'll convert it from raw data into some sort of narrative. And divide the material into several pages rather than this long single one.
I think I've now gone back as far as I can using birth and marriage certificates in the Family Record Centre (FRC). It's now time to get more information from census and parish records.
Anyway here's an Ahnentafel Chart which lists my ancestors discovered so far, each with a link to the first mention of that person in the text..
Ahnentafel Chart
1, Andrew Lawrence Milton ( I won't be saying much about my parents or myself
on these pages: too recent)
2. Laurence Frederick Milton
3. June Josephine Andrews
4.Alfred Thomas Milton
5. Ada Strutt
6. Joseph Charles Andrews
7. Ethel Kitty Striker
8. William Milton
9. Emma Sarah Louisa Frost
10. Alfred Strutt
11. Elizabeth Driscoll Hopgood
12. Frederick Chisnall Andrews
13. Madeline Charlotte Swain
14. Edward Alfred Striker
15. Ethel Harriett Neaves
16. James (George) Milton
17. Rebecca Haysom
18. John Frost
19. Emma Lake
20. John Strutt
21. Honor Brewer
22 Thomas Hopgood
23. Rebecca Paris Driver
24. Edward Charles Henry Andrews
25. Amelia Norman Andrews
26. William Henry Swain
27. Susannah Sarah Sykes
28.Edward Francis Striker
29.Annie Langley
30. George Thomas Neaves
31. Sarah Ann Hicks
32 James Milton
34 William Henry Haysom
36. James Frost
37 Catharine Williams
38. Joshua Lake
40. John Strutt
42. John Brewer
48. Edward Andrews
50. William Joseph Andrews
52. William Henry Swain
53. Frances Lee
54. Robert Henry Sykes
56. Henry Striker
57. Sarah Hall
58. Henry Langley
60. John Neaves
61. Maria Pitt
62. Henry Hicks
72. William Frost
74. William Williams
104. William Swain
105. Caroline [?]
106. Henry Lee[?]
208. John Swain[?]
209. Amey [?]
416. Saxin John Swane[?]
417. Mary [?]
What follows is a bit discursive, although it follows the sequence in the above chart. This gives me the freedom to add and delete stuff as I go, and explore some of the byways, which I couldn't do with conventional genealogy software.
Paternal Grandfather, and his ancestors
Let's start with the Good Book. My Dad says that he remembered sighting a Milton family Bible. It was regarded so valuable by the family that he was not allowed to handle it. It had a great list of names inside the first page and showed that the family had originated in Mansfield. He has no idea what happened to that Bible. If anybody out there has it, or has news of it, I'd be grateful for a peep. However, the Strutt family bible (see below) contains the following entries relating to the later Miltons:
Alfred Thomas Milton 9th April ?
Ada Milton (Strutt) 18 March 1891
Margaret Louise Milton 18 June 1921 3.15am
Alfred William Thomas Milton 23 Aug 1925 7am
Lawrence Frederick Milton born 12 May 1931
Pte William Milton (895) died 15.5.18
Royal Defence Corp grave No. 1469,R
George Milton died 13.1.17 grave No. 1320,R Age 15 years
As we shall see, this backs up the following research which I've conducted through the Family Record Centre in London, and via the Internet. BTW, I've no idea who the above George Milton is. However, Free BMD has a record of a George Milton being born in the December quarter of 1901 in Poplar Dec 1901 (Vol1c page 541 of the FRC index). Anyway, let's get on with the people I know about for sure.
My paternal grandfather was Alfred Thomas Milton. He was born on 9th April 1888 at 3 Cross Street, Hackney, in the East End of London, England. He and my grandmother moved to New Zealand when I was born in 1956. His father was William Milton, whose occupation was given on the birth certificate as 'Permabulator Maker'. Alfred's mother was Emma Sarah Louisa Milton, formerly Frost. They had a large number of children, but of the boys only my grandfather and his brother Frederick Milton survived the First World War.
According to his birth certificate, William Milton was born in the registration district of St George's in the East in the sub-district of St Mary in the County of Middlesex on 8 December 1864. His father was James Milton (Journeyman Proof Maker) and his mother was Rebecca Milton formerly Haysom. She was the informant: she made her mark and gave her address as 17 Samuel Street, St George in the East.
My Dad told me that two of his great uncles (who were twins) were killed on the same day during the battle of the Somme. Their father (i.e. William) was guarding German prisoners at the time, and shot two of them in revenge. Dad said he died in a military hospital of a brain tumour the following year. I searched the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site for a William Milton, and came up with this:
Debt of Honour Register
In Memory of W MILTON
Private 895 103rd Protection Coy., Royal Defence Corps who died on Wednesday 15 May 1918 . Age 53 .
Additional Information: Husband of Emma Sarah Louisa Milton, of 36, Freeland Buildings, Eastville, Bristol.
Cemetery: CITY OF LONDON AND TOWER HAMLETS CEMETERY London, United Kingdom Grave or Reference Panel Number: Screen Wall Historical Information: The cemetery, which covers about 33 acres, has been in use since 1841. It contains war graves of both world wars. During the 1939-1945 War the cemetery suffered severely from enemy air attacks directed on the City of London, the two chapels and many of the memorials having been damaged or destroyed. All the 280 war casualties buried in this cemetery are recorded on bronze panels affixed to a screen wall.
There are 2 possible candidates for Milton brothers killed in 1917 from CWG site. Most likely are: 23/11/17 C. Milton - Private 240197 1st/5th bn, Somerset Light Infantry, Jerusalem War Cemetery, Israel, and E Milton Private 240198 1st/5th bn, Somerset Light Infantry, Jerusalem War Cemetery, Israel [NB same reg (with Somerset connection), consecutive numbers, so very good chance they were brothers who volunteered at the same time, but 'wrong' theatre of war: but perhaps Dad got confused between Solomon and the Somme, on account of their being next to each other in the dictionary] :-)) There was also a Charlie Milton - Private 30165 14 Bn, Royal Warwickshire Regiment and James Milton Private S/40041 2nd Bn Gordon Highlanders killed on the same day in 1917 (right theatre of the War, but different regiments with odd geographical location for regiments for our family)
Despite what it says above, I can't find any evidence that William Milton was actually married to Emma (at least not in England and Wales).
William Milton features in the 1881 census. He was 16 at the time, and the family was living at 13 North Street, Hackney. The head of the household was James Milton, age 47, born in London, Middlesex, England [a bit vague!]. His occupation was 'Boot Closer' (i.e. someone who sows the upper part of the boot). According to the International Genealogical Index, James George Milton was christened on 25 May 1834 at Saint Leonards, Shoreditch, London, England
His wife was Rebecca Milton, age 44, born in London, Middlesex, England. Her occupation was 'Boot Machinist'. They had the following children at the time of the 1881 census:
[many thanks to Philip Milton for sending me these 1881 census details and those quoted below]
James George Milton married Rebecca Haysom in Stepney on 25 Dec 1859, Saint Dunstan, Stepney, London, England. According to the marriage certificate he was 25, a cordwainer by profession, living at 6 Willow Street. His father was James Milton, also a cordwainer. Rebecca was 22, a cordwainer, living at 27 Erith[?] Street. [In other words, a load of cobblers.] Rebecca's father was William Henry Haysom, a Packer by profession. The witnesses were [?] Haysom and Jane Milton. Rebecca made her mark, suggesting she could not write.
The Haysoms seem to have originated in Dorset, and were often stonemasons by trade, according to various postings on the Internet.
Meanwhile, Emma Sarah Louisa Frost was born in Islington, in the Sub-district of Islington East in the County of Middlesex. She was born on 28 October 1866, at 7 Mildmay Street. Her father was John Frost, and her mother was Emma Frost, formerly Lake. Her father's occupation was 'Iron-trimmer'.
This family was recorded in the 1881 census. They were living at 20 Usher Road, Bow, London, Middlesex The head of the household was given as John Frost, age 37, born in Dunmow, Essex. His occupation was still 'Iron Trimmer in 1881. According to the index in the FRS, he was born in the June quarter of 1843, vol XII page 78. His wife is given as Emma Frost in the 1881 census, age 43, born in Tottenham, Middlesex, England. I haven't been able to find a birth certificate for her. [She doesn't seem to have been working at the time of the census, so perhaps her husband was relatively well off, see note on education below.] They had the following children:
According to their marriage certificate, John Frost and Emma Lake were married on 17 December 1865 at the Parish Church in the Parish of West Hackney in the County of Middlesex. It just says they were of "full age", and they were resident in West Hackney [not especially helpful!]. John Frost's occupation was Iron-dresser. His father was James Frost, iron-founder. Emma Lake's occupation is left blank on the certificate. Her father was Joshua Lake Bricklayer. The witnesses to the marriage were James Frost and Sarah Lake.
According to his birth certificate, John Frost was born in 1843 [difficult to read the exact date] at Dunmow in the County of Essex. His father is given as James Frost, a police constable living in Great Dunmow (according to a contemporary gazetteer, "The POLICE STATION is a neat and substantial building, erected in 1842, by the County Magistrates, at the cost of £1200; and has a court room, in which Petty Sessions, are held for Dunmow Hundred, on the first Monday of every month". John Frost's mother was Catharine Frost, formerly Williams.
I have the marriage certificate for a James Frost and Catherine Williams who were married on 6 August 1838 at the church of St James Westminster. He was of full age and a soldier by profession, living at St John's Wood [where there was a barracks]. His father was Wiliam Frost, farmer. She was living at 3 Queens Street, Golden Square. Her father was William Williams, shoemaker. I'm not sure this is the right couple. But it's the only one with those names to have been married between the start of central registration in 1837 and 1843. And it's just plausible that after serving as a soldier James Frost returned to his home village as a police constable.
Paternal Grandmother and her family
Turning now to my paternal grandmother's family: Ada Strutt was born in West Ham on 18th March 1891 23 Grenville[?] Street, Plaistow, West Ham Her father was Alfred Strutt (Dock Labourer), and her mother was Elizabeth Driscoll Strutt, formerly Hopwood. However, the name was misspelled on the birth certificate, and is usually spelled Hopgood.
Her birth certificate says that she was born the Sub-district of West Ham in the County of West Ham on 18th March 1891 at 23 Grenville[?] Street, Plaistow, West Ham. It gives her father's occupation as 'Dock Labourer'.
Her parents were married in the first quarter of 1876 in Mile End. The marriage was solemnised at St Thomas in the Parish of Stepney in the County of Middlesex on 27 March 1876. Alfred Strutt was aged 26 Bachelor, Mariner, resident at 47 Hardinge St (now Battishill Street). His father was John Strutt, Mariner. Elizabeth Driscoll Hopgood was aged 21 Spinster [no occupation given] of 47 Hardinge St. Her father was Thomas Hopgood, Hatter. The witnesses were William Vanloo [?], and Mary Ann Craddock.
According to his birth certificate, Alfred Strutt was born on 12 June 1849 in St Peter, Maldon, Essex. His father was still John Strutt, Mariner, and his mother was Honor Strutt, formerly Brewer. She was the informant and was living at St Mary's, Maldon.
According to their marriage certificate, John Strutt and Honor Brewer at the parish church of St Mary in Maldon on 17 September 1848. Their residence was also St Mary in Maldon. They were both 'of full age'. John Strutt's occupation was given as 'sailor' and his father as John Strutt, labourer. Honor Brewer's father was John Brewer, carpenter.
There is evidence of Strutts living in the Maldon area for several generations, including the family of Nobel Prize winner John William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh,
According to biographies of John William Strutt, the first direct ancestor of the Strutt family in this area who can be reliably traced is a John Strutt I, a corn miller, who settled in the Springfield area of Chelmsford, Essex, in around 1667, working the Springfield and Moulsham mills with his son John II. This branch of the Strutts continued as millers until around 1727, when John retired to the small Essex village of Terling. John II had, earlier in 1720, purchased the farm known as Simon Collins in Terling.
According to my Dad. Ada had three sisters and one brother. The sisters were:- Honour, Minnie, Rebecca. Her only brother was Thomas. They all lived beyond ninety yrs, and two of her sisters lived to over 100 years old. [I hope I've inherited some of those genes]. My Dad told me that his Mother told him that her Father, was lost at sea when she was six years old, and her mother kept a shop with her sister (a haberdashery shop, I seem to recall) and brought up her family on her own. An old sea chest belonging to her father is in the possession of cousins in New Zealand.
I have the birth certificate of my grandmother's sister, Honour Rebecca. This says she was born in West Ham in the County of Essex on 21st May 1883 at 11 Berger[?] Street, Plaistow. Otherwise the information is the same as in Ada's certificate.
My cousin Frances Salt in New Zealand has a Strutt family bible which confirms much of what is on this page. It gives the children of Alfred Strutt and Elizabeth as follows:
Alfred John Strutt born June 19 18? at 7.15am
Ernest Strutt born May 9 1879 died November 6 188?
Thomas Strutt born 5 July 1881
Honour Rebecca Strutt May 21 1883 at 5.20am
Charles John Strutt April 8 1886 Died Oct 12 1890
Minnie Strutt Born September 13 188?
Ada Strutt born March 1891
Rebecca Strutt November 12 ? [this was my great aunt Becky whom I met in Christchurch
New Zealand when she was about 90: she was the youngest of these Strutt daughters]
According to her birth certificate, Elizabeth Driscoll Hopgood was born on 3 November 1854 at 4 Causeway, Limehouse in the registration district of Stepney in the County of Middlesex. It gives her father as Thomas Hopgood, Hatter and her mother as Rebecca Paris Hopgood, formerly Driver. She was the informant, and made her mark, indicating that she could not write.
I searched the years 1842-1854 at the FRS, but wasn't able to find a marriage certificate for Thomas Hopgood and Rebecca Hopgood.
Many thanks to Gavin Grace for giving me the following information about the family of Elizabeth Driscoll Hopgood. According to him, there was a Rebecca Isabella Hopgood who had an older brother Thomas and a younger brother Charles. Her parents were Thomas Hopgood and Rebecca Driver.
Rebecca Isabella's birth certificate has the following info.
b 18 February 1860, 20 James Street, Limehouse, to Thomas (Hatter -
Journeyman) and Rebecca (nee Driver)
Her marriage certificate has following info.
6 December 1885 at St Thomas Church, Stepney, Thomas Cox (33) m Rebecca
Isabella Hopgood (25) of 4 Palmer St, father Thomas Hopgood, Hatter.
My grandmother, Ada, told my Dad the following story about the name 'Driver'.
There were two sisters who were serving wenches at an Inn in Cosworth (north of Liverpool) at the time of the French revolution. A Frenchman came to stay at the Inn. He needed money to sustain himself so took the job of driving one of the coaches. Not wishing to use his French name he adopted the name "Driver". He either married or had an affair with one of the serving wenches. The were two children as a result of the union. A few years later as suddenly as he arrived at the Inn, he left, and no one saw or heard of him again. That wench according to my Dad's mother was one of her ancestors. [Admittedly, this sounds a bit like a Thomas Hardy novel, and it looks as though it's a story which is going to be impossible to verify, especially if it's true! But it is interesting that other Drivers on the Internet have stories about their being of French origin, and Rebecca Driver's middle name of 'Paris' may be an indication of this. Or maybe not!].
.My great-grandmother's middle name of 'Driscoll' is interesting. The Driscolls were originally the 'O'Driscolls'. They were a large and notorious family originating from West Cork, in South West Ireland. See the O'Driscoll clan Internet site for their colourful details.
I haven't as yet definitely traced my grandmother to this rather interesting clan, but there was a Jeremiah Driscoll who was born in Cork, Ireland 1826 and married Mary Keating (also from Ireland) in Poplar, London in 1849. Perhaps they came to England during the potato famine.
Maternal Grandfather and his family
My Mother's father was Joseph Charles Andrews, 1909-1965. I was called Andrew after the Andrews family (my Mother was an only child so that particular Y chromosome ended with him). I have many happy memories of him when I was a child, but he died tragically young, of cancer. He was born in West Ham, at 46 Lucas Avenue on 8 June 1909. According to his marriage certificate, he and Ethel Kitty Striker were married at the parish church in West Ham on 19 December 1931. Their address was 18 West Road, West Ham. His occupation was given as coach conductor, and he remained a bus conductor until he died on 28 August 1965. His father was Frederick Chisnall Andrews (a motor omnibus driver), and his mother was Madeline Charlotte Andrews, formerly Swain. The wedding was witnessed by Frederick W Andrews (Joseph's brother) and E. Striker.
The Andrews family came from Ipswich and the surrounding area in Suffolk, mostly farmers, millers and innkeepers. With all this emphasis on grain and related trades, and perhaps memories of the good old days of the Corn Laws, they took naturally to the Tory party, for whom they voted solidly during the nineteenth century, according to the Ipswich poll books before the secret ballot was introduced. All this information I remember from my first attempt to trace my ancestry many years ago. I'm going to have to rediscover the documentary evidence.
According to his birth certificate, Frederick Chisnall Andrews was born on 29 June 1876 at Claydon in the Bosmere registration district of Suffolk, subdistrict of Coddenham, in the County of Suffolk. His father was Edward Charles Andrews (profession: Gentleman) and his mother was Amelia Norman Andrews, formerly Andrews (presumably a cousin). According to their marriage certficate, they were married in the parish church of St Clements Ipswich on 8 February 1873. They were both 'of full age'. Edward Charles Andrews was a widower and a gentleman by rank or occupation living at Claydon, Suffolk. His father was Edward Andrews farmer. Amelia Norman Andrews was a spinster living at St Clements Ipswich. Her father was William Joseph Andrews, miller. The witnesses were Robert Alexander Cook and Ellen Maria Andrews. They were married ny licence, rather than after banns. I seem to recall from my 1977 research that this was his second marriage (to one of the servants?), and presumable explains why Frederick did not inherit very much and had to move to London to find work.
Frederick Chisnall Andrews and Madeline Charlotte Swain were married on 24 April 1904 at the Parish Church of St Edmund King and Martyr at Forest Gate in the County of Essex. According to their marriage certificate, Frederick Chisnall Andrews was aged 28 and a Stableman by profession. At the time of the marriage he was living at 54 Woodstock Road, East Ham. His father was Edward Charles Henry Andrews [difficult to read the father's occupation]. Madeline Charlotte Swain was 28 years old (no occupation) living at 17 Halley Road Forest Gate. Her father was William Harry Swain, Stableman. The witnesses to the marriage were D Ramsay Murray and Elizabeth Jane Murray.
There is a genealogy listed for a Madeline Swain as an ancestral record on the LDS site. According to this, a Madeline Swain was born c. 1876 in Poplar, Middlesex, England. According to this, her parents were William Harry Swain and Susan Sarah Sykes, who married about 1872. In fact, her birth certificate says that Madeline Charlotte Swain was born on 18 April 1874, in Poplar in the sub-district of Bow in the County of Middlesex. Her father was William Henry Swain, profession Carman, and his mother was Susannah Swain, formerly Sykes. She was the informant, made her mark, and gave her address as 6 Sherwood Street, Bromley (presumably Bromley by Bow).
According to their marriage certificate, William Henry Swain and Susannah Sarah Sykes were married in the parish church of St Pauls, Bow Common in the County of Middlesex on 31 July 1864. They were both resident at Bow Common Lane. He was 22 years old, and a carman by profession. His father was William Henry Swain, a shipwright (deceased). She was 17 years old, and a factory hand. Her father was Robert Henry Sykes, a barber (deceased).
According to the LDS record, William Harry [sic] Swain was born on 17 April 1844 at Shoreditch, St Leonards, England and died on 24 January 1912 in Hackney, London, England. According to his birth certificate, William Swain was born at 6 Everards Place, Back Church Lane, Whitechapel on 19 March 1844. His father is given as William Swain, Gun Smith, and his mother as Frances Swain, formerly Lee.
According to the LDS record, Susan Sarah Sykes was born c. 1846 and died before 1916 (I couldn't verify her birth at the FRS, which isn't surprising if her real name is Susannah). William Harry Swain's parents were William Henry Swain and Frances Lee who married on 11 September 1842 at Shoreditch, St Leonards. According to the marriage certificate, William Swain was of full age, while Frances Lee was a minor. They both lived in Chamber Street, not the most salubrious street according to an article in the East London Observer. He was a Gun Maker by profession, and she was a Hat Trimmer. His father was William Swain, a Yeoman Warder. Hers was Henry Lee, a Hatter..
According to the LDS record, William Henry Swain was born on 6 June 1816 at St Mary, Whitechapel, Stepney, and Frances Lee was born in Shoreditch, St Leonards c. 1818. The LDS record seems to be inaccurate here, as it gives a different father for William Swain from the marriage certificate: George John Swain and Caroline who married before 1816. According to the LDS, Caroline was born c. 1783 in England, but I'm going to take the LDS record with a pinch of salt from this point. It says George John Swain was born in August 1781 at Whitechapel, Stepney, England. His parents were John Swain and Amey. John Swain was born on 9 October 1748 at Whitechapel. His parents were Saxin John Swane (sic) and Mary. Saxin was born c 1722 in England and Mary about. 1724. [Interestingly, Saxin seems to be a Swedish name, so perhaps Swane is also Swedish in origin? The name is likely to derive either from the Swedish for a youth, or the Anglo-Saxon for a swineherd]
Maternal Grandmother and her family
My maternal grandmother was Ethel Kitty Striker, born on 6 December 1908 at 18 West Road, West Ham, Middlesex, London. Her father was Edward Alfred Striker, a telephone instrument maker (journeyman) in 1908: [pretty high tech for those days]. In his marriage certificate in 1931, he described himself as an engineer. At the time of his death in 1954 he was 68 years old (which gives 1886 as his approximate year of birth) and described as a retired electrical engineer. The cause of death was left ventricular failure and pumonary tuberculosis (fibrosis left lung).
According to his birth certificate, Edward Alfred Striker was born on 7 June 1885 at 12 Venue Street Bromley. The registration district was Poplar and the sub-district was Bromley in the County of Middlesex. His father was Edward Francis Striker, a Merchants Clerk by profession and his mother was Annie Striker, formerly Langley.
Their marriage certificate states that Edward Alfred Striker and Ethel Harriett Neaves were married at the Parish Church in the Parish of West Ham in the County of West Ham on 6 June 1908. Edward Alfred Striker was aged 22 Bachelor, an Engineer at 18 West Road. His father was Edward Francis Striker, Caretaker. Ethel Harriett Neaves was aged 24 Spinster [no occupation given] of 18 West Road. Her father was George Neaves, Labourer. The witnesses were Frank C Neaves, AE Steff [?], and HE Hicks.
According to his birth certificate, Edward Francis Striker was born at 2 Mill Terrace, Bromley in the registration district of Poplar in the sub-district of Bow in the County of Middlesex on 8 March 1864. His father was Henry Striker, a General Labourer, and his mother was Sarah Striker, formerly Hall. She was the informant and was living at 2 Mill Terrace. I searched the years 1856-1864 at the FRS for Henry and Sarah's marriage certificate, unsuccessfully.
According to their marriage certificate, Edward Francis Striker married to Annie Langley at the Parish Church in Poplar on 4 April 1885. He was a 21 year old Commercial Clerk, and she was 20. Their address was 38 Lefevre [?] Road. His father was Henry Striker, Labourer. Her father was Henry Langley, Store Keeper. I've tried to find a birth certificate for Annie Langley but there are two not very likely candidates in the FRC index: one born in Birkenhead in the September quarter of 1864 (Vol 8a page 303) and the other in Chorlton in the March quarter of 1864. Unfortunately the indexes for June 1864 and December 1864 & 1865 were away for repair when I was last at the FRC. I'll chase this up again on another visit.
According to their marriage certificate, George and Sarah were married on 22 January 1882 in Emmanuel Church in the Parish of Forest Gate. He was 22 and a Laborer [sic] and she was 25. Their residence was simply given as Upton. His father was John Neaves, Gardener. Hers was Henry Hicks, Confectioner. The witnesses were Henry Hicks and Marian Hicks.
I have the birth certificate for a George Thomas Neaves who was born in Stretham in the registration district of Ely in the sub-district of Haddenham in the County of Cambridge on 9[?] March 1859. His father was John Neaves, farm labourer and his mother was Maria Neaves, formerly Pitt, who was the informant, living in Stretham.
George Thomas's brother Frank C Neaves was born on 14 January 1874 at Collard Road, Walthamstow. By then, John Neaves' occupation was gardener.
I've got the birth certificate for a Sarah Ann Hicks born in Bethnal Green on 12 October 1855, but her father is given as Robert, not Henry, Hicks. There are other Sarah Ann Hickses born in various parts of the country about this time, so I need to keep searching.
Interestingly, there's book by Ivy Alexander (nee Hicks) called Maid in West Ham which has details of her family and includes family tree charts from the early 19th and late 18th centuries. I bought this as background reading (and she sent me a very nice letter with it), but it doesn't seem so far that my Hicks is related to her.
Useful genealogical links
International
Genealogy.com- a commercial site which includes a number of surname message boards (including boards for most of my surnames) which I have been using to make postings, including:
The Milton Family Genealogy Forum
UK
Free BMD A free site which enables you to search the indexes of the UK's registry of birth, deaths and marriages in the 19th century over the Internet Not complete, but useful when you do find an ancestor there: can save lots of manual searching at the Family Records Service in London. If you've got some spare time, why not help them out with inputting records onto their database.
East of London Family History Society I've just joined this (membership number 9741).
I'll be keeping these pages updated from time to time and would dearly love to hear from anybody with genealogical information to swap.
Please contact me on
Andrew Milton (e-mail) tel 0044(0)2086958925, mobile 07966 430722